Oscar c



LOCK.

'Specification of Letters a'tlenjt.

vPatented,Sept. 16, 1919.,

Arplicat'iqa and January 127, 1919. seria; ne. Macao.

To aZZ whom t may concern; i

Be it known that I, OSCAR C. RIXsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Rochelle, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locks, of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- `act description.

This invention relates to locks of that character in which the bolt is normally protruded under the action of a spring and is withdrawn either by the knob or key mechanism in opening the door, or is forced inward by engagement with the strike plate on closing the door, this type of lock being generally known as a latch lock.

The main objects of my invention are two-lirst, to provide for an easy sliding movement of the bolt inward upon the closing ofthe door, and second, to provide an eicient dead-locking mechanism which will be effective upon the latch bolt only while the door is closed.

In carrying out my invention I provide two leversV actuated by the strike plate,.one

. of which operates to force the normally protruding bolt inward to `permit the door to close, and the other releases a dead-locking pawl to permit it to assume a locking engagement with the yprotruled bolt while the door is closed. v

The specific invention will be set forth in the following description and particularlyT brought out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a vertical central section through the frame of a mortis'e lock showing the mechanism of the lock in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a front view ofthe face plate of the lock;

Fig. 3 is a. front view of the striker plate or strike,

Fig. 4 is a section on line :v c' of Fig. 1., and

Fig. 5 is a section on line y 0f Fig. l.

I have kshown my invention .applied to a mortise lock but it is also applicable to other styles of locks. The mainframe of the mortise lock is indicated i and is cf the usual 13.9.reanrllareharwter having face wat@ 2;

which is exposed at the edge ofthe door. In the `upper right hand corner of the frame a circular opening B is shown indicating the seat for location of a. cylindrical key `mechanism which may be used in connection With this mortise lock, the construction of which is well known in the art. The lock boltis indicated by a head-piece 4' and tailrod 5 the two parts being rigidly connejctedtQ-V gether, the head occupying a rectangular opening inthe face Iplate in which it has a sliding bearing, and the tail rod extendingto a point near the rear of the lock frame where it slides in a bearing` 6. Between the bearing 6 and the rear face of the head-,piece is a coiled spring 7 which has a constant tendency t01 hold the bolt y'in its protruded position. The head of the bolt is provided with the usual bevel as shown, which in the present instance is not intended to serve'as a cam .to enable the' stri-ke to force the bolt inward, but is intended to permit the door to close without interference by the solid portion of the strike preceding the orifice therein into which the bolt is projected. To force the bolt inward when the door is closed and eliminate the friction ordinarily en# countered by the ,engagement ofthe strike with the beveled surface of the bolt, I provide an independent lever 8 which is a hori- Zmlly arranged triangular rlatehavns a pivot lpin 9 at one of the 4angles set into the faceplate and kpermitting the lever to swing inward when one of its edgesis struck by t e lip of the striker plate. This lever preferably occupies an opening inthe facek plate which is spaced from, or independent of, the opening occupied by thebolt s0 that its movements ydo notrin any way interfere with 0r create friction upon thebolt. Pivoited to this lever 8 lis a rod 10 which reaches; rearward to the inner eXlQmty ,of thfe tail rod on the bolt and is ythere `conne cted Wlthf a @FOSS-,head 11 riveted erellelivse fastened to the eXtreme end of ,thetailrod 5. .'Ihe cross head normally fbearsagaist the rear face .0f the beling 6 and lmtsthe .outer position ofthe bolt under .the actiOfIl .Of the Spring, in this/resume the-lever .8 prei-ee @aware a@ ie far .eee-l It wel thus be seen that when the lever 8 is swung inward on its Ipivot the bolt will be withdrawn by a pulling action applied to the rear end of the tail rod. That is to say, the point of application of the force which moves the bolt inward is at the rear end of the rod instead of at some point nearer the head of the bolt where the motion would be accomplished by pushing the bolt structure along its bearings rather than by a pulling action. It is found, and well understood,

that friction inthe bearings of the bolt is less liable to develop when the bolt is pulled than when pushed through its bearings. I am aware that a lever similar to the lever 8 has been used heretofore, but as known to me it has been mounted in contact with the bolt and occupies the same opening in the farce lplate therewith, such lever impinging directly upon a shoulder formed upon the bolt itself and thus serving to push the bolt inward when engaged by the strike plate. Aside from the friction which still exists in the prior construction, it also possesses several disadvantages in manufacture which I avoid by placing the lever in an opening of the face plate independent of that occupied by the bolt. Uponthe rear face of the headpiece of the bolt there is provided a shoulder 12 for engagement with the dead-locking lever to which reference will now be made.

A dead-locking pawl or lever of ordinary construction is shown at 13, being horizontally arranged upon a pivot 14 located intermediate of its extremities. The forward arm of this pawl is adapted to engage and disengage with the shoulder 12 of the bolt while the rear end is provided with a cam face 15 which comes into play when the pawl is to be manually released from the bolt, as will be explained hereinafter. Upon the upper surface of the forward arm of the pawl is a lug 16 having an inclined face 17. 18 is a lever pivoted to one of the side plates of the lock casing at 19 and extending downward behind the tail-rod 5 and the pawl 13 and carrying at its lower end an anti-friction roller 20 mounted on an axle between two ears projecting at right angles from the end of the lever. Upon the face of the lever is a lug or pin 21 which projects into the plane of the lug 16 on the pawl and is adapted to bear upon the inclined surface 17 thereof. lVhen this lever 18 is in its extreme lefthand position, the pin 21 is against'the top of the lug 16 and holds the forward end of the pawl in its lowermost position where it is out of engagement with the shoulder 12 on the bolt. When the lever 18 moves to the right it permits the pawl to rise into engagement with the bolt under the action of the spring 22 which normally gives the pawl a bias toward the bolt. Lever 18 is normally y under a bias to the left by reason of another spring 23 which is of hairpin shape, sur'- rounding a stud at its bend and having one leg resting against a pin 24 while the other end bears against the edge of the lever. To force this lever to the right and thus release the pawl so that it may act upon the bolt, I provide a lever 25 similar in all respects to the lever 8 and which occupies an opening in the face plate independent of the opening occupied by the bolt and below the latter. This lever' is pivoted in the face plate upon a vertical pivot and its inner edge bears against the roller 20 carried by the lever 18, from which it will be seen that when the lever 25 is forced inward by engagement with the strike plate, the lever 18 is swung to the right and permits the pawl to rise into engagement with the bolt.

The usual key and knob operated lever is shown at 26; it is pivotel at 27 and is adapted to be swung rearward by either the knob mechanism engaging with its middle portion, or by the key mechanism which engages with the head 28 at its upper end. Y The knob mechanism comprises the usual split hub 29 through which a two-part knob stem passes. One of the parts of the split hub is adapted to be locked and unlocked so that one of the knobs can be locked to prevent opening the door with it. 'Ihis locking mechanism consists of the bolt 30 which is thrown into and out of locking engagement with the hub by two plungers 31 and 32 exposed in recesses inthe face plate of the lock and which are connected together by a pivoted lever 33 so that the inward movement of one plunger causes the outward movement of the other. On one of these plungers is a triangular' lug 34, two of the faces of which are adapted to be alternately engaged by two faces on a similar lug 35 carried by a pivoted locking dog 36. The engagement between these triangular lugs is frictional so that the dog is forced upward whenever pressure is applied to force inward either of the plungers. To prevent the dog from rising and thus prevent the plungers from moving the lower extremity of the lever 18 is arranged to bear upon the upper surface of the dog. When the door is open the point of this bearing is above the axis of the dog so that it does not interfere with the movement of the dog, but when the door is closed the end of the lever 18 which is then in its right hand position and over the opposite extremity of the dog, effectually prevents the dog from rising and the plungers cannot then be moved. Thus while the door is closed the position of these plungers cannot be changed to release the locked knob, as is sometimes done, by inserting an instrument between the edge of the door and the door frame and applying pressure to one of the plungers. The striker plate shown in Fig. 3 is provided with the usual lip 37 which presents an uninterrupted surface t0 the levers 8 and 25 and the bolt 1. It also has an opening 38 largo enough to looovo both tho bolt 4 all@ the lever 8, but which does not extend into the path of travel of ,the lever 25, this Vlever being held in its inner position by the strike as long as the .door is closed.

The operation of this latch lock is as follows:

While the door is open the two levers 8 and 25 and the .bolt 4 are in their projected positions, the forward arm of the pawl 13 is held in its lowermost position by the engagement between its luo 16 and the pin 21 on lever 18 and the bolt is therefore free to move inward. When the door is closed the two levers 8 and 25 are first engaged by lip 37 of the strike and are forced inward. Lever 8 through link 10 forces the bolt inV- ward while lever 25 in moving the lever 18 to the right permits the bolt 13 to rise into Contact with the lower surface of the headpiece of the bolt, along which it slides while the head of the bolt is being pulled inward. When the door becomes fully closed the opening 38 in the strike plate is presented to the bolt and the lever 8, and both of them shoot outward under the action of coil spring 7, lever 25 being held inward by the solid strike plate. When the bolt moves into the opening 38 of the strike plate to its full extent, the locking pawl, which is then being urged upward by its spring, rises into engagement with the shoulder 12 and deadlocks the bolt. To open the door either by the key mechanism or the free knob the lever 26 is moved to the right. A lug upon this lever (shown in dotted lines) first comes in contact with the cam surface 15 on the rear arm of the locking pawl, raising the latter and throwing the forward end downward and releasing the bolt. This motion is independent of the bolt because of the short space provided between the upper end of lever 26 and the cross head 11. When the bolt is released lever 26 engages cross head 11 and pulls the bolt together with the lever 8 inward, releasing them from the opening 38 in the strike plate. l The door can then be opened permitting lever 25 to move outward under the action of spring 23 which forces lever 18 to the left and against the lever 25. In this movement the pin 21 moves into engagement with the upper end of the lug 16 on the locking pawl and prevents the pawl from dead-locking the bolt while the door is open. Pushing in either bolt 4 or the lever 8 while the door is open will have no eect upon the locking lever. Pushing in the lever 25 alone while the door is open will permit the locking lever to rise into engagement with shoulder 12 but when the lever is released it will fly outward and the pin 21 will force the locking pawl downward by traversing the inclined surface 17.

dead-looking paul therefor; a lover Control? ling the movement `of the pawl, and a pivoted Strike eotuatod member operativo 1119011 said lever but .disconnected therewith.

v2. In a lock, the v,combination of a bolt, a deed-looking paul therefor, a lever Controlling the movement of the pawl, a pivoted strike actuatedfmember .operative upon said lever but disconnected therewith, and an anti-friction device interposed between the member and lever.

3. In a lock, the combination of a bolt, a dead-locking pawl therefor, a lever adapted to hold the pawl in inoperative condition with respect to the bolt, and a strike actuated member operative upon the said lever but disconnected therewith.

4. In a lock, the combination of a bolt, a dead-locking pawl therefor provided with a cam surface, a swinging lever having a lug adapted to coperate with said surface to move said pawl and a strike-actuated member operative upon said lever but mounted independently thereof.

5. In a lock, the combination of a bolt, a dead-locking pawl having a bias to deadlock the bolt, a lever adapted to engage the pawl and having a bias to move and hold the pawl out of dead-locking engagement with the bolt and a strike-actuated pivoted member operative upon said lever but disconnected therewith.

6. In a lock, the combination of a bolt, a dead-locking pawl therefor, a knob locking plunger, a lever adapted to move to permit the pawl to dead-lock the bolt and to hold the plunger against movement, and a strike actuated member for moving said lever.

7. In a lock, the combination of a casing including a face plate, a bolt occupying an opening in the face plate, a strike actuated lever occupying an independent opening in said face plate and connections between said bolt and lever whereby the former is moved when the latter is actuated by the strike plate.

8. In a lock, the combination of a sliding bolt, provided with a tail rod, a strike actuated lever and connections between the lever and the rear end of the tail rod whereby the bolt is withdrawn when the lever is actuated.

9. In a lock, the combination of a sliding bolt, provided with a tail rod, a strike actuated lever and connections between the lever and the rear end of the tail rod whereby the bolt is withdrawn when the lever is actuated, said bolt and lever occupying inleppndent openings in the face plate of the 10. In a lock, the combination of a sliding bolt provided with a tail rod, a lever pivoted in the face plate of the lock and adapted to be moved by engagement with the strike plate and a rod connecting the rear' end of the tail rod to the lever.

1l. In a lock, the combination of a latch bolt having a tail rod, a bearing in the casing for the rear end of the tail rod, a spiing interposed between the bearing and the head of the bolt7 a cross-head carried by the tail rod at its rear extremity, a strike actuated 10 nature.

OSCAR C. RIXSON.

Copies of this patent :may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

